nolarobert
USAF Armament Museum
The classic trainer derivative of America's first jet-powered pursuit (fighter) aircraft, the slender P-80 Shooting Star, the T-33 (Popularly nicknamed the "T-Bird") also became America's first jet trainer. As the requirements of jet aircraft were quite different to those of traditional piston-engined ones, pilots in the late 1940s were suffering from a high accident rate. The T-33 was a proposed solution, and entered service in the late 1940s, just prior to its Soviet counterpart, the MiG-19 "Midget". Boasting the same clean lines at the revered P-80 design from which it stemmed, the T-Bird has been a favourite mount of pilots in the Americas, Europe and Asia for an impressive 50+ years.
USAF Armament Museum
The classic trainer derivative of America's first jet-powered pursuit (fighter) aircraft, the slender P-80 Shooting Star, the T-33 (Popularly nicknamed the "T-Bird") also became America's first jet trainer. As the requirements of jet aircraft were quite different to those of traditional piston-engined ones, pilots in the late 1940s were suffering from a high accident rate. The T-33 was a proposed solution, and entered service in the late 1940s, just prior to its Soviet counterpart, the MiG-19 "Midget". Boasting the same clean lines at the revered P-80 design from which it stemmed, the T-Bird has been a favourite mount of pilots in the Americas, Europe and Asia for an impressive 50+ years.